1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector adapted to hold a terminal within a terminal accommodating chamber once the terminal has been inserted therein, and more particularly to a connector having a retainer capable of preventing the terminal from being withdrawn from the housing, the retainer being inserted forwardly into the housing after the terminal has been inserted into the rear of the terminal accommodating chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of a conventional connector, respectively.
A housing 1 has a cylindrical terminal accommodating chamber 3 capable of accommodating a terminal 2 when it is inserted from the rear of the housing 1 into the chamber 3. An arm 4 is formed on the bottom portion of the terminal accommodating chamber 3, adjacent to the forward portion of the housing. The arm extends toward the end of the terminal accommodating chamber 3 and is capable of extending upwardly and being bent downwardly. A latching projection 5 is formed on the upper portion of the arm 4. A latching hole 6, complementary to the latching projection 5, is formed in the terminal 2. The terminal 2 is latched to the housing 1 when the latching projection 5 is inserted in the latching hole 6.
In the forward portion of the housing 1, there is formed a retainer receiving cavity 7 which communicates with an aperture formed under the arm 4. A plate-like retainer 8 is inserted into the retainer receiving cavity 7, and the front of the retainer 8 is inserted into the aperture formed under the arm 4, thereby fixing the latch to the terminal. In addition, a convex-concave latching structure (not shown) is defined by the retainer 8 and the housing 1 within the terminal accommodating chamber 3. Thus, when the retainer 8 is inserted into the retainer receiving cavity 7, the retainer can be first latched in a temporary latching position where the front of the retainer 8 does not reach the aperture formed under the arm 4, and then can be latched in a regular latching position where the front is inserted into the aperture formed under the arm 4.
In the above structure, the retainer 8 is inserted into the retainer receiving cavity 7 formed in the forward portion of the housing 1, and initially held in the temporary latching position. In this situation, when the terminal 2 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 3 from the rear end of the housing 1, the front of the terminal 2 initially contacts the latching projection 5 formed at the end of the arm 4. However, since the aperture formed under the arm 4 is open, the arm 4 can be bent downwardly, whereby the terminal 2 can be inserted up to the end of the terminal accommodating chamber while depressing latching projection 5 and the arm 4. When the terminal is inserted up to the end of the terminal accommodating chamber 3, the latching hole 6 of the terminal 2 faces the upper portion of the latching projection 5, and the latching projection 5 is inserted into the latching hole 6 by a restitutive force, thereby causing the terminal 2 to be firmly held in that position.
Further, when the retainer 8 is inserted to the regular latching position, the front of the retainer 8 is inserted into the aperture formed under the arm 4 and latched, thereby preventing the arm 4 from being bent downwardly. In this situation, since the latching projection 5 cannot be withdrawn from the latching hole 6 of the terminal 2, the terminal 2 cannot be withdrawn from the terminal accommodating chamber 3.
In addition, if the terminal 2 is only inserted halfway into the chamber 3, the arm 4 is depressed by the terminal 2, bent downwardly and held in that position, whereby the aperture for receiving the front of the retainer 8 is closed. Accordingly, the retainer 8 cannot be inserted, and thus it is possible to detect the halfway insertion of the terminal.
On the other hand, with this kind of connector, connectors in which the retainer 8 is held in the temporary latching position are often packed in a packing box or packing bag and conveyed to a station where the next terminal insertion step is carried out. If some outer force is applied to the retainer 8 during the conveyance, the retainer may be mistakenly moved to the regular latching position. In the regular latching position, the terminal 2 cannot be inserted since the arm 4 cannot be bent. In this situation, in order to properly insert the terminal 2, first, a tool is used to push back the retainer 8 to the temporary latching position, and then the terminal 2 can be fully inserted.